NATO AND SYRIA

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) – Publication date: 28 May 2017

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced NATO is joining the Western anti-ISIL coalition in Syria. How exactly NATO will be “joining” the Western powers already involved militarily in that conflict?

The secretary emphasized NATO won’t be assuming combat roles in Syria. The formal “joining” of the anti-ISIL coalition is in reality a political gesture since all 28 NATO members are already involved in combating the caliphate in Syria and Iraq in one way or another. Diplomats in Brussels said NATO’s move is symbolic more than anything else....Read more

ISRAEL’S AIR STRIKES INSIDE SYRIA: PLAYING WITH FIRE

Ehud Eilam(Ph.D., analyst of Israel’s national security, is a former civilian researcher for the Israeli military. He resides in the United States)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 13 May 2017

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

On April 27 Israel bombed a military site inside Syria, near Damascus. It was a strike similar to those Israel carried out since 2013.Israel and Syria have been enemies since 1948. They confronted each other in several high intensity wars and in numerous smaller clashes. The Israeli air strikes inside Syria in recent years are a war within a war, one of the many that have been going on in Syria. There is the major fight between those who support Assad and those who oppose him together with smaller confrontations such as between the Kurds and ISIS and Israel and Hezbollah. Read more

“SCHINDLER LIST”FOR SOUTHEAST EUROPE

Zlatko Hadžidedić(Assistant Professor at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, Bosnia-Herzegovina. He received his PhD from the University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Political Science, his MPhil from the London School of Economics and Political Science and MA from the Central European University, Budapest. He served as political adviser to several Bosnian ministers and political leaders. His book Forced to be Free. The Paradoxes of Liberalism and Nationalism was published in 2012 by Deutscher Wissenschafts-Verlag (DWV).

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 7 May 2017Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

A few days ago Observer published a column under the title Putin-Proofing the Balkans: A How-To Guide, written by John Schindler. In this article the author advocates some new geopolitical redesigns of the Balkans which are actually far from being a novelty...Read more

MEF SUES DHS FOR HIDING INFORMATION ON ITS FUNDING OF ISLAMISTS

Philadelphia – May 1, 2017 – The Middle East Forum has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to secure the release of documents related to the Obama administration's Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) grant program. Read more

CHRISTIANS (AND MINORITIES) MUST BE A TOP PRIORITY FOR TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 21 April 2017

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

The executive order of President Trump on refugees has been widely, and rightly, criticized. Such criticism of the executive order is indeed proper and necessary, one aspect of the new policy, namely the prioritization of claims of religious persecution by religious minorities in refugee applications. ..Read more

AND NOW, A SULTAN-FOR-LIFE?

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 18 April 2017

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

Erdogan won the April 16 referendum by a narrow margin. How dangerous is he now as newly minted sultan-for-life, provided he lasts?Erdogan is unpredictable, suspicious, and impulsive. He is also revengeful and ruthless when dealing with enemies, both true and fictional. He sees conspiracies coming from all points of the horizon. In other words, he clearly demonstrates the obsessive character traits which distinguish dictators from normal people. His paranoia is increasing proportionally to his recent revengeful, hostile rants against Europe. In a recent reshuffle of his spy agency, he created a unit of dark “special operations” to wage total war against enemies inside and outside Turkey...Read more